FOX Sports FIFA Women’s World Cup Morning Highlights – Sunday, June 7

ICYMI: “Kickin’ It With Stu & Nash” Premiered on FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP TONIGHT Last Night

FOX Sports presents a pair of FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP 2015™ games today on local FOX stations, beginning with FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP TODAY at 12:00 PM ET. Game action begins an hour later as Norway faces Thailand, followed by Germany vs. Cote d’Ivoire.

TODAY’S SCHEDULE
FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015™ Group B – Ottawa
12:00 PM ET – FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP TODAY, FOX
1:00 PM ET – Norway vs. Thailand, FOX (Justin Kutcher, Aly Wagner & Julie Stewart-Binks)
3:00 PM ET – FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP TODAY, FOX
4:00 PM ET – Germany vs. Cote d’Ivoire, FOX (Kutcher, Wagner & Stewart-Binks)
12:00 AM ET – FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP TONIGHT, FOX Sports 1

FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP TONIGHT Highlights:

Dr. Joe Machnik on the late call that resulted in Canada’s game-winning penalty kick:
“I don’t think it’s a controversial play at all. What makes it controversial is the time of the decision – the 90th-plus minute. We wouldn’t be talking about it if it happened in the 31st minute.

“For me, it’s a penalty whether it’s the 31st minute or the 90th minute. The referee makes a great call.”

Alexi Lalas strongly disagrees with the call on the field:
“Was it a foul? Yes. But the calls in a soccer game don’t happen in a vacuum. I have to look at this in the context of the game. This was a 0-0 game. I thought in the first half, China played better than Canada, so at the end of the game, what really happened was the soccer gods smiled on the host nation, the referee walked to the spot singing “O Canada” and gave them a gift.

“In the context of this game, I would not have called this a penalty.

Former Canadian international Christine Latham says this was not a case of home team help:
“The referee made a clean, fair call on this. I don’t think it had anything to do with being the host nation. As a defender, you don’t come in, in the box especially, with your arm high. You just don’t do it.”

Lalas added:
“It was interesting to hear Coach Herdman after the game talking. He said, ‘Without a doubt, it’s a penalty.’ And then he went on to explain how it was this incredibly courageous call by the referee. If it’s so clear, there’s nothing courageous about it. I don’t understand what he’s talking about.”

Ariane Hingst says the call was due to poor defending by China:
“That was just really poor defending. I’ve been a defender all my life, and this is maybe the inexperience of the Chinese players, because in a tournament like this you don’t raise your elbow that high.”

Machnik added the call set the tone for the tournament:
“It was the first game of the World Cup, and they put a very good referee on that game. The referee has to set the standard for the rest of the tournament, and I think she did really, really well, and that was the key call.”

Leslie Osborne says it wasn’t a bad play, since those plays often go unnoticed:
“As a defender, you tend to be able to make those moves because sometimes they go unseen from the referee, so I’m okay with her doing that. Maybe seven out of 10 times, she would get away with that.”

Latham says Canada was fortunate to come away with three points:
“I didn’t think they played their best soccer today. They came out flat; a little disorganized; there were a few starters that maybe weren’t ready to go; several defensive unforced errors. [John Herdman] is relieved that even though his team didn’t play well, he still has three points.”

Hingst says despite getting a win, she expected more from the Netherlands:
“The Netherlands were underwhelming. They were okay in the first half, but in the second half they were really lucky not to tie up the game in the end – they didn’t do enough. I expected a little bit more. Despite being nervous, I know it’s their very first game, but I would’ve thought we were going to see a stronger Netherlands today.

“Of course it wasn’t a bad game, but maybe my expectations were too high.”

Angela Hucles, on the other hand, was impressed with the Netherlands:
“I was very pleased with the way the Netherlands came out to play. We talk about Miedema being this young goal-scorer, and here we have one of the most brilliant World Cup goals from Martens. For the opening match, they got their three points, they did what they needed to do, and I was very pleased with their performance.”